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Introduction: Tinnitus is one of the complex symptoms of hearing described as a phantom auditory sensation without any external stimulation. Due to the subjective nature of tinnitus, perception and discomfort of tinnitus vary among the patients. The main aim of this study is to investigate the effects of gender, age and the degree of hearing loss on discomfort due to tinnitus. Methods: Eighteen patients with tinnitus, aged 21-72 years, (9 males and 9 females) were recruited. Tinnitus discomfort was investigated by Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) questionnaire. Psychoacoustic assessments of tinnitus and auditory threshold assessments were evaluated using a 2-channel clinical audiometer. Results: The results showed no significant correlation between THI scores with loudness matching (P=0.187), mean of auditory threshold (P=0.304), gender (P=0.93) and age (P=0.200). Also, no significant correlation was found between maximal level of hearing loss and pitch matching (P=0.208). Conclusion: The study findings suggests that tinnitus is not correlated with age, gender and hearing loss. Overall, tinnitus is a complicated clinical condition which its real impact and degree of discomfort are unclear. More investigation is needed to clarify the factors involving in tinnitus annoyance.

Introduction: Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), a disorder of the elderly people, is difficult to diagnose and often progresses to Alzheimer Disease (AD). Temporal region is one of the initial areas, which gets impaired in the early stage of AD. Therefore, auditory cortical evoked potential could be a valuable neuromarker for detecting MCI and AD. Methods: In this study, the thresholds of Auditory Steady-State Response (ASSR) to 40 Hz and 80 Hz were compared between Alzheimer Disease (AD), MCI, and control groups. A total of 42 patients (12 with AD, 15 with MCI, and 15 elderly normal controls) were tested for ASSR. Hearing thresholds at 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz in both ears with modulation rates of 40 and 80 Hz were obtained. Results: Significant differences in normal subjects were observed in estimated ASSR thresholds with 2 modulation rates in 3 frequencies in both ears. However, the difference was significant only in 500 Hz in the MCI group, and no significant differences were observed in the AD group. In addition, significant differences were observed between the normal subjects and AD patients with regard to the estimated ASSR thresholds with 2 modulation rates and 3 frequencies in both ears. A significant difference was observed between the normal and MCI groups at 2000 Hz, too. An increase in estimated 40 Hz ASSR thresholds in patients with AD and MCI suggests neural changes in auditory cortex compared to that in normal ageing. Conclusion: Auditory threshold estimation with low and high modulation rates by ASSR test could be a potentially helpful test for detecting cognitive impairment.